Turnover of the Cell Wall of Gram-positive Bacteria

Abstract

Abstract Previous observations (Mauck, J., and Glaser, L., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 39, 699 (1970)) on the turnover of the cell wall of Bacillus subtilis W-23 during logarithmic growth have been extended to show that (a) freshly synthesized wall does not become available for turnover for about one-half to one generation; (b) the turnover rates of the cell wall mucopeptide and cell wall teichoic acid are identical; (c) the products of cell wall turnover can be isolated from the growth medium and are the products of cell wall cleavage by an N-acetylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase. Cell wall turnover has also been observed in Bacillus megaterium strain KM in logarithmic growth phase. Preliminary studies with inhibitors suggest that turnover is dependent on new cell wall deposition. The implications of these observations for the mechanism of cell wall growth are discussed.